Untethered

The debut short story collection from the RSL Ondaatje-award longlisted author of The Half-life of Snails.

Dead birds fall from the sky, an octopus lies stranded on a beach, and a lost shoe becomes a public shrine ... Untethered, Philippa Holloway’s first collection of short stories, provides an unflinching glimpse of daily life interrupted by unexpected events. Small intrusions into familiar spaces reveal nothing is as it seems. Sometimes it demands a change of viewpoint, sometimes a cutting loose to find freedom.

From conflicted parental expectations to unwanted visitors, from discovering tiny human teeth in the garden to a brief encounter with a murderer over the kitchen table, these precise, realist tales scrutinise families and lovers, colleagues and strangers with a keen emotional depth and sharp observation. Each one is a vivid snapshot exposing the fragile ties that hold people together.

Here we see how pigeons become terrible portents, dining tables become autopsy benches and confessionals, and a family is forced out of their home with just minutes to pack.